The Time Wanderer
by History of Madness
Summary: the epic story of a young girl who in order to save her soul must travel to different time periods and even dimensions to collect Innocence; a substance that will help cleanse her tainted soul. Many dangers will await her.


Arrayah looked curiously around; she had expected something after death but defiantly not this. She stood in the middle of a large but cozy room; a large scale was about twenty feet in front of her. Beyond that was a stage covered with a giant red curtain. The floor was beautiful dappled brown, black and white colored granite that shined like new pennies in the light. A large, crystal chandelier hung from the middle of the room, illuminating everything in a warm, golden-yellow light. The walls were made of light beige colored marble. The room was empty, except for a white sofa, where her mind told her she was suppose to sit in. The room reminded Arrayah of a fancy hotel reception room mixed with a movie theatre. She sat down and crossed her right leg over her left and held her chin with her right hand, thinking. _How strange,_ she thought. _ If anything I thought I would be burning in hell by now. _A few seconds later a woman poofed out of the thin air, causing Arrayah to jump back in surprise. "Who are you?" Arrayah asked, bewildered.

"I am God" she said. Arrayah looked suspiciously at her and took in her features. She was medium height, around five feet seven inches, and had dark brown hair tied in a simple ponytail. She had warm grey eyes and a diamond shaped face with a Greek nose. Her skin was a warm cream color and she hap thin lips. She wore a simple white dress that reached to the ground.

"I thought God was supposed to be a man."

"I can if you want me to; I just thought this form would be most comfortable for you, since you have thought that I would better fit the role of a woman. I can change if you want." And she transformed into a tall, handsome man with the same exact features, only masculinized.

"Er, that's okay. Anyway _God_-"she emphasized the word, still not sure what to believe "What am I doing here? I'm not exactly the purest soul in the book."

"Oh, but who says you're in heaven? You see, this is the confession room, or as I like to call it, the crack room." He said, winking at a confused Arrayah. "Don't give me that look, you'll see soon enough. First things first, do you have any questions?"

"But you would know if I had a question, your God after all."

"Don't be a smartass! You think I want to go probing in your mind? Just imagine the sick things I'll find in there. Anyway, questions?"

"Hmmm… do animals have souls?"

"No."

"But why not? They share similar emotions with us. A dog feels happiness when he sees his master and sadness when he leaves. What else would you call that?" Arrayah exclaimed.

"Animals don't have a complete soul like humans."

"They don't have a complete soul?"

"Correct. You see my dear-"Arrayah snorted in disapproval, but was quickly silenced with a glare from God. "Animals have fragments of souls. Most animals have one soul fragment, mostly fish, germs, insects, some reptiles, birds, and mammals. Animals who you cannot gain their respect and who have basic emotions: fear, hunger, the need to reproduce and defend their territory. Smarter animals- mostly hoofed animals, creatures that have basic emotions and have advanced emotions- happiness, sadness, and anger would have 2 soul fragments. Dogs, cats, parrots, horses and animals who you can build a stable relationship with would have three soul fragments. Next would be the most intelligent animals: elephants, primates, dolphins and whales, animals capable of holding onto a grudge would be four fragments. At last come humans, the only animal with a complete soul made up of five fragments. That's why your species is the dominant."

"What happens when an animal dies? Does their soul fragment disappear?

"Ugh, use your head child! What's one thing you humans do to make money while reusing something?"

"Prostitution?" she replied uncertainly.

"Ye- no! Apparently you lack common sense or you didn't pay attention in school!" God snapped irritably.

"Well I'm sorry. Apparently it's _my _fault that you created me this way."

"NO! Don't even begin to place the blame on me. I simply helped you come into the world, nothing more and nothing less. It's up to you and your surroundings to influence what your personality will be like."

"Gasp! That means you could have made me into the next Leonardo DaVinci or Isaac Newton!" she pointed an accusing finger at God, completely ignoring his previous comment.

"Did you not hear what I said? To bend your personality anyway I wanted to would be affecting your free will. I would not want to be held responsible for your actions. You had the choice to create how you wanted yourself to become, therefore you are accountable for what you did or did not do. Like procrastinating in school, or becoming a drug addict was entirely your fault!" Arrayah winced at the last remark, and her face filled with sadness. God noticed this, and, in a gentler voice said "I'm sorry sweetheart, but you must understand. Life is hard, even harder when you lose a loved one. Your actions were understandable, considering the circumstances, but that doesn't make them any better." He softly took her hands, beckoning her to follow him. "Anyway, the fragments are recycled. You see, a human soul is made up of five fragments; it is made up of other soul fragments, which combine to make a complete human soul, or it could split and from there become a separate fragment, or two or three. A soul fragment is never wasted; the souls from today have always been infinite. They are the original, they always have been, and always will be. So in a sense, you could say a human could have been a wolf, a single cell organism, or even an alien in their past life. Are you understanding this dear?"

"Eh, more or less. So how about heaven? You say souls split right, so if that is so, there wouldn't be a need for heaven, since a human soul would split and you said only complete souls can enter heaven."

"Well a soul can choose to split or combine. It is the beauty of souls, they can choose to either stay as they want, or become something bigger. A human soul must first undergo their time in either hell or purgatory. After that, when they are pure enough to enter they can either stay there for eternity, or be reborn again. More times than not, a soul will first spend time in heaven, and when they want to be reborn again, will go to a void. There they will split, combine, or stay whole. Of course souls want to see the world in a different perspective, so more times than not they choose to be something entirely different from what they previously were. Ah, here we are." God said, smiling warmly to himself. They arrived at the scale, which upon seeing more closely, on the right scale, Arrayah noticed a necklace with the blackest stone she has ever seen. "This is the devil's necklace, once worn by the Devil itself, but now it is used to determine the weight of a soul's evil deeds." He then let go of her and plunged his left hand deep in her chest. Arrayah let out a squeal of surprise, both of his sudden action and at seeing how his hand when in her so easily, like sticking a stick in mud. He felt around a little, and then when he grasped something, began to gently pull. Arrayah was surprised to not feel pain at all; instead she felt something being pulled out of her, like peeling off skin when it has been cut, but without the pain, and on a much larger scale. At last he pulled out whatever he wanted. Arrayah looked a bit queasily at his bloodied hand and the drops that splattered onto the granite floor. For a moment she thought he had pulled out her heart, seeing a bloody ball-shaped figure in his hand, but quickly dismissed the thought when she felt her heart beating inside of her. He said something and the blood cleared from the floor and his hand. Arrayah then saw he held a ball in his hand; it was softball sized and glowed dimly. Different shades of green, yellow, red, blue, and a tint of grey swirled inside of it, reminding her of a giant, colorful coco puff. "Your soul" he mused. She raised her eyebrow at him.

"If that's my soul, how am I still standing?"

"Silly girl, have you forgotten who I am? I can make _anything _possible. Especially in the realm I rule over. Well then let's continue this little fiesta shall we?" she responded by groaning slightly. God walked over to the scales and made sure the necklace was centered. When he was satisfied he placed Arrayah's soul on the right scale. "If your soul is lighter than the necklace, it means you haven't committed enough sins to send your soul to hell. If your soul is heavier then the necklace, well then I guess tough luck. If it is aligned with the necklace, which nearly most all souls are, then you will spend time in purgatory. I'm sure you know what that means, right?"

"Hrmph, I'm not that stupid, wait, that came out w-"

"EP ep ep! I don't need to hear your excuses nincompoop." He then snapped his fingers and the scales tipped greatly. First the necklace was heavier than Arrayah's soul, and vice versa. After a few moments they began to balance out, and Arrayah looked on fearfully. Her soul was considerably heavier than the necklace; it didn't completely weight it out, but enough to give her a long sentence. "It seems your soul holds more sin than the average human soul. Let us look at your past offenses." And with that being said, the curtains on the stage opened up, revealing an enormous white screen. The sound of a film being played was heard, and the screen came to life.

Arrayah then saw her life, mostly the wrongdoings, being played out. She saw herself stealing from a store many times, telling lies to friends and family alike. Indulging herself in meaningless objects, rebelling against her parents, holding a grudge against many people, drug abuse, and, worst of all, the killing of a man. She closed her eyes as the flashback came to her.

_ She had to get back at him somehow. To avenge her brother, he had ratted him out and the gang members found him and murdered him. She should be angry at them, but she knew the consequences of the actions her brother had done, and, it was only natural for what they did to him. But she could never forgive that man, that coward who, to prevent himself from getting beat up, revealed her brother's location. A beating would be his punishment, for the gang members had no proof that he had conspired with her brother, only suspicions, but he snitched on him anyway. She put on a black hoodie and loose black pants and put the hood up, quickly grabbed a hunter's knife from her dad's cabinet, and snuck out. Outside it was eerily quiet, the sounds of crickets and the occasional bird rang in the air. It was as if nature itself was waiting for the tragedy to happen. As she made her way to her destination, three men joined in with her. They too, had a grudge against that man. After a fifteen minute walk they arrived at their destination. Throughout the walk no one had breathed a word. Everyone knew what would be done. One of the men picked the lock to HIS house, and quietly opened the door. Two men went inside and began searching for valuables. The third man and Arrayah silently made their way upstairs to HIS room. They carefully turned the knob, and then rushed inside and grabbed the man. He let out a yelp, but was quickly silenced when Arrayah placed her knife on his throat. "You go on downstairs and help yourself with whatever you want Alex. I'll take it from here." He nodded solemnly and left the two alone, closing the door behind him._

"_Please…don't hurt me! I'll do whatever you ask!" he begged._

"_Too late for that!" she grinned cynically and, when a swift movement, sliced the man's thigh with her knife. Blood poured out and she stuffed a rag in his mouth before he could scream. Tears began to stream down his face as he begged her to stop. She continued to slice him up, carving into his flesh and even removing a few fingernails. When she was done he was a bloodied mess. He had lost a large amount of blood, but not enough to kill him. But I won't kill him. She thought to herself. I think I scared him enough, but just one last thing. She grabbed her knife and pointed it down his jugular vein, the tip digging into his flesh. He let out a muffled yelp and started crying again. "Sheesh you big baby, calm down. I'm not going to kill you.'' She said, rolling her eyes. He relaxed slightly and let out a small sigh of relief. She was about to get up to leave when suddenly the bedroom door slammed open and someone roared "Police!"_

_ She didn't mean to, it wasn't her intention. She came here simply to give the man the scare of his life. But this was uncalled for. She felt her hand slip and next thing she knew she heard the disgusting sound of flesh being pierced. She looked down and saw she had stabbed him when she heard the yell. She saw her victim's eyes widen, and when she pulled the knife out, he moaned. Blood pulsed out of the wound, spraying her with blood. She looked on, mortified as blood began drenching the rag and he began to spasm. Now it was her turn to cry as she tried to put pressure on the man's wound, sobbing as she tried in vain, apologizing. Her tears mixed with his blood and soon his eyes became glassy and, after what felt like an eternity, she felt his life disappear. "Police!" roared the voice again. "The police are coming! Someone saw us break in!" said Alex dreadfully as he grabbed her arm. She didn't want to leave, the guilt was too much, but she knew no good would come out if she stayed here and the police caught her. Taking one last look before running out of the room, she saw his blood-drenched body, and knew life would never be the same for her again._

"So now you see what you've done. I know that last one was unintentional; nonetheless you intended to hurt someone. Justice must be served." Arrayah's face was streaming with tears now.

"I know, I didn't mean to hurt him, but still… how could I have done such a thing?" She whispered. God looked irritably at her and sighed, pinching the spot in between his eyes.

"Crying over it isn't going to bring him back. You might as well serve time if you feel so bad about it. But before we do lets weigh the virtues of your life. If your soul is heavier than the feather, it means you haven't done enough good deeds. If opposite, it means you have done much more than your share and you will enter my kingdom. Keep in mind not many mortals make it there automatically." He clapped his hands twice and the necklace was replaced by a beautiful white feather with golden tips. Once again he made sure both Arrayah's soul and the feather were evenly balanced out. He snapped his fingers and the scales tipped. To both of their amazements Arrayah's soul was much lighter than the feather. God had a dumbfound look on his face, and all Arrayah could say was…

"Hell yeah! Try sending my ass to hell now God!" she shouted, giving a small victory dance, and then slipped as God made the ground beneath her slippery. Arrayah could have sworn she hear _something_ crack. God let out hearty laughter as she groaned. He stood over her and pulled her up, holding her up by her left arm as her feet dragged.

"Come now darling, don't leave yourself vulnerable for me to attack!" he grinned sheepishly, pinching her cheek.

"Geez you sound like you're trying to rape me you pervert." Arrayah hissed, pushing his hand away, then quickly dodged a kiss from him.

"Please don't flatter yourself sweetheart. I've meet better looking people than you, of course without the bitchy attitude." He chuckled, Arrayah's cheeks flushing with indignation as she tried to punch him, but alas to be stopped by God's… godly speed. He then brought his face up to hers, their faces separated by a few centimeters.

"You have a once in many lifetimes soul my dear. Sending you to hell wouldn't be fair for the good side of you, but it would be impossible for you to enter my kingdom. The weight of your sins would drag you down. Therefore, I have an alternative for you." He smiled optimistically

"And that would be?" Arrayah asked expectantly, her eyes widening, so wide it would seem she has seen God naked. God snickered at her face and said cheerfully,

"Arrayah… how would you feel if I sent you back to the realm of the living?"

For a few moments, nothing but silence passed between them. Arrayah's ears heard, but they were unwilling to believe. She heard everything so clearly, her heartbeat, the blood flowing through her veins, she could even count the hairs on God's face. "To be alive again…to see everyone I love and care about…" Arrayah muttered to herself. _But why would he do such a thing. It'll be like releasing a monster back on the prowl. No way can God be this forgiving._

"Hmmm, I can see what you're thinking. No dearie, it won't work like that. It simply wouldn't be fair." He let go of her arm and Arrayah straightened herself up.

"What do you mean it won't work like that?"

"For one, you won't see the people you care about. You'll be on a journey of atonement, or something similar to that. You must search out some items, and bring them to me. But the items you will be searching for will be scattered among different time periods."

"Then what am I to do?" Arrayah said sadly, looking down.

"I'm sure you've heard of the concept of time travel, am I correct?"

"You mean like back to the future? Of course, I was learning about it in school. Why, does time travel have something to do with my journey?"

"If it didn't why would I bring the subject up? _Please_ use your head.'' God said, poking her forehead. Arrayah was about to open her mouth to make a curt comment, then decided it would be best not to. After all, he was offering her a chance to redeem herself. Then she looked up enthusiastically

"So you're going to let me time travel?"

"More or less, of course you won't be traveling back and forth on a car! Just imagine what people from the past or late future will think!" He said with laughter in his voice.

"So what will I be using to time travel in? Or will I alone have the power to travel?"

"I won't be sending you alone. You'll have a … guardian so to speak with you to make sure you fill out your duties and to prevent you from getting in trouble. You must be able to merge both of your souls to time travel. I'll also be bestowing a few powers on to you, but don't expect your eyes to be able to start shooting lasers. First, you'll have infinite photographic memory, so you _clearly _remember everything you have seen, learned, or felt. You'll also be considerably stronger, faster, and more agile than the average man, but you must first make it so. You'll also be immortal."

"Immortal! Why, I can have all the time in the world!" _if God though this was a punishment, then I'll love to see what hell is like, _Arrayah though giddily to herself. God's right eyebrow twitched in annoyance _she still has so much to learn. It'll be heartbreaking to see her learn the hard way. But, like any human, she must find out things by herself. _God rubbed his hands together, as if cold, and then a door appeared in front of them.

"I'll give you time to prepare. Say what you would like to take on your journey and it shall be yours, but don't take unnecessarily things. You'll be traveling by foot after all. Take things you truly need, like a sleeping bad, and food or water." He then opened the door and left, not stopping to see whether Arrayah had something say. Arrayah allowed a wide smile of happiness to crawl on her face. _Wait till her brother found about his!_ She thought happily, then stopped short as she remembered that he was no longer with her. Her eyes filled with sadness and a tear slide down her nose and dropped to the floor, leaving a small, shiny drop on the granite floor. She walked miserably to the sofa, sat down and cupped her face with her hands. Then she got an idea. She asked to no one in particular for an electric razor, a mirror, some rags, petroleum jelly, green hair dye, hair bleach, thin hair bands, aluminum foil, a blow-dryer and some water. Then all these things appeared on a small table, except for the mirror, which was standing in front of her. She grabbed her silver, oval- shaped locket necklace and opened it, revealing a picture of her with her parents and older brother. _ He always loved Mohawks, even though it drove Mom crazy, he always had one_. She remembered._ This will be in his memory. _She then tied the middle of her hair up in the hair bands while looking in the mirror, making sure it was perfectly centered. When she was pleased she turned on the razor, making a loud buzzing noise, and carefully began shaving the sides of her head, making sure the hair was four eighths of an inch long, and leaving the hair in front of her ears long. Curls of long, chestnut brown hair fell to the floor, and when she was finished, had to laugh at her reflection. _Why, I look like a skunk!_ She she started the bleaching process, bleaching the hair left long in the middle of her head and sides. After that, she washed the bleach off, and applied the green hair dye to the bleached hair. Again she washed, not stopping until the water ran clear. Then dried her hair with the rags and blow-dried her hair. She looked in the mirror and smiled. _Now that's a head of hair only a mother could love! Wait, not even! I'll ask God if he can make my hair face permanently back without the use of gel._ She ordered the items to disappear and began asking for things she would need on her journey: food and water for nine days, a warm sleeping bag, a small tent, a hunting knife and rope, a basic medicine kit, and other necessities. _But how will I carry all this?_ For awhile, she pondered this, and then suddenly the door opened and God stepped in the room. One glance at her and he started howling with laughter, tears running down his face. He hollered, holding his stomach, unable to contain himself. Arrayah sat on the sofa, scolding at God, wondering when in the hell he was going to stop laughing. A few minutes passed, and when he had collected himself enough to start a proper conversation, faced her, only to break out laughing again. "Oh you ridiculous girl! You really did get me this time!" he slapped his thigh, earning himself a frown from Arrayah.

"Please God, my mission!"

"Oh right, sorry.'' He snickered, and then faced her. A grin appeared on his face "Dare I ask?''

"For a personal reason, but I'm sure you can look to it later." Arrayah replied bluntly.

"Oh, okay. Well Arrayah, it is time for you to meet your Guardian."

And with that being said a mule walked out the open door. It wasn't too large, about fourteen hands (4 feet 8 inches) at the withers. It was a pretty buckskin color with a black tail and small mane. It already had a saddle on with the reins in its mouth.

"Couldn't you have gotten me a horse instead? I mean, it's nice and all, but still…"

"Child, be grateful for what I give you! You're lucky to have gotten a riding animal at all, not many absolute souls wish to come back as a Guardian!" God said annoyingly. The mule looked at Arrayah and let out a disbelieving snort. It scraped the floor with its leg and turned its head toward God.

"So I'm going to be babysitting a brat am I? Unbelievable…" A voice said. Arrayah's jaw dropped as she looked shockingly at the mule. Its mouth had not opened, yet she heard the voice loud and clear. The mule turned its attention to her and gave a glare.

"Close your mouth; you'll attract flies like that." It said, its tail twitching exasperatedly.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, you'll be communicating with your Guardian via telepathically. You actually thought you'd be communicating verbally? What a silly girl." giggled God.

"Wait, is it a male or female? And does it have a name? Hell how am I gonna feed it?" exclaimed Arrayah. God laughed at her and shook his head, while Arrayah, fed up with him, began throwing aluminum foil at him.

"I am male and I am called Roxxon, you slow girl." retorted Roxxon. Arrayah looked hatefully at Roxxon. She just met him and already she felt like exploding him. She can't see how God expects her to put up with Roxxon.

"We'll since you two are already wonderful friends, I think it's time you've started your journey Arrayah."


End file.
